Thursday, March 22, 2012

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 18, 2012): This Puzzle is No Sweat

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 18, 2012): This Puzzle is No Sweat:
Q: Take the phrase "no sweat." Using only these seven letters, and repeating them as often as necessary, can you make a familiar four-word phrase? It's 15 letters long. What is it?
Don't forget, you should use every letter at least once.

Edit: In other words, don't waste any letters because you know what they say...
A: Waste not, want not

56 comments:

  1. Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly to the answer (e.g. via Google or Bing) before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

    You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't give the answer away. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the Thursday deadline. Thank you.

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  2. sorry, only terrible things come to mind on this one.

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  3. I tried looking up the origin of this and one reference cited a Nixon aide. Now that's funny! Think it goes back to the 1500's in England.

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  4. Interestingly, two letters are used but once and one letter is used four times. Not sure that helps though...

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  5. The following is what I posted just after the puzzle went on their website last night:

    "skydiveboy Mar 17, 2012 09:14 PM
    New puzzle is now up and I did not delay in sending in my answer already."

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  6. As I was beating my wife this morning I got to thinking about the on-air puzzle Will used today and specifically one question. That was the question asking for the name of one of the books of the Christian bible where the answer was Leviticus. Why not a similar question where the answer came from the Bhagavad Gita or the Quran or some other religious tome? I see this as just another example of how the majority in this country, without thinking, assume we are all of the same mind and religious beliefs. I have no doubt none of this even occurred to Will when he designed and gave the puzzle, but I feel this question should have been left out. It disturbed me enough that I gave my wife three more lashes before getting back to my coffee and newspaper comics.

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    1. Or perhaps the great majority of Will's audience would recognize a Biblical reference more readily. Leviticus, by the way, is also the third book of the Torah, a highly non-Christian work. And since spelling was important here, how many ways can you spell "Koran?" (Qur'an, Koran, Al-Coran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, Al-Qur’ān) Should the listener know they all end in "-an?"

      The Quran has very few named segments anyway.

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    2. Yes I do agree with you that Leviticus is part of the old testament that Jesus told his followers was the old teaching and that he was bringing new teaching, etc. However, it seems the fundies who cling to him like flies to flypaper seem to ignore all that and like to quote Leviticus the most in their crusades of hate against those they do not agree with and this is completely against the teachings of the man they say they are following. So my post was attempting to shed a little light on this nonsense that I find so offensive. Oh, and I should point out that I was not actually beating my wife—we never tied the knot.

      As to naming the segments of the Quran, well I can't even name the segments of an orange. I guess I was also pointing out in my way that if he, meaning Will, not Him, had used the Quran instead of the bible in his puzzle today I bet NPR would have received numerous letters complaining.

      So no one gets the wrong impression I would like to point out that while I am not at all religious, right after 911 the mosque a mile from my house was vandalized and I joined several others, none of whom I knew, sitting outside their place in order to offer a bit of protection from idiots. It worked and no further violence ensued. While doing this I did observe a few fanatical, younger guys, including one from Iraq who said he was going back. I invited him to my house in order to give him a book or something and I would not be a bit surprised if he went in any strange direction after returning to his country. I hope not, but that is the impression I got from him.

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    3. SDB, I'm all for a little leeway in hinting at the puzzle, but I'm not exactly sure how this relates to the puzzle at all. This is for puzzle discussions, not just a pulpit for general discussion.

      Delete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Okay, I thought it was hilarious - but perhaps too much of a dead give-away. Blaine would possibly have nixed it -so maybe I'll put it back up on Thursday.

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    2. I too found myself laughing, but I think you deserve a medal for removing your post until Thursday.

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    3. NOTE:
      When I posted the above comment, oddly enough, the letters I was asked to type were:

      nhasel systens

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    4. Kudos Jim - I think it is better if we remove our our posts before Blaine does. Now my reply makes no sense at all ! (until all is revealed on Thursday)

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  8. Unlike last week’s puzzle, this week’s puzzle is not lame. And you can rest assured that the first thing I did after submitting it was to file it in my file holder :)

    Chuck

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  9. Too stoned to figure this one out.

    I'll try again later.

    -- Other Ben

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  10. Has this puzzle ever been reused or recycled?

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  11. Figured this one out pretty quickly. Puzzle reminded me of Rocko's Modern Life.

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  12. If I spend any more time on this puzzle, I won't have time to do more important things, and I'll regret losing that time.

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  13. I initially stopped at the intended answer, but there are others (not the required # of letters and words though):

    Ants sat on nest

    A stone nose wants to wet (for Jim)

    Newt wants to atone woes

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  14. SDB - you need to get out more. IT'S ONLY A PUZZLE!!!! Eddy

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    Replies
    1. What you are really saying is that I should not have opinions that differ from the majority.

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  15. Repeating my comment posted near the end of last week's thread:

    I posted this on Mar 17, 2012 at 10:37 PM:

    I'm reminded of the biblical quote "The last shall be first and the first shall be last". In this case the most common shall be the least common; although it's now the second most common that shall now be the most common - but the least common shall still be more common than what was the most common!

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  16. NEWT WAS SATAN'S SON? No, that's 16 letters.

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    1. True none the less. But how about:

      SATAN AS NEWT'S SON

      15 letters and I am sure Will will use it?

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  17. SDB perhaps Unknown thought you were beating a dead horse. (I personally agree with you and, even as a trekkie, believe those shows were a bit too earthcentric at times) Although I don't know if that is better or worse than beating one's wife. There are still plenty uses for even dead horses.

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    1. I guess that will remain Unknown, for now anyway.
      If you think beating my wives is bad you should hear what I say to telemarketers. Several years ago one from Kanada actually called the Seattle Police on me. I always told people the cops here are stupid but certainly not stupid enough to respond to a bogus call from a telemarketer with what should have been (and was actually) percieved as a hoax. The younger of tho two officers who finally responded was laughing as he approached my porch where I was standing. The other was clearly unfit to remain on the force as he ended up squirming noticeably when I said I would not agree to stop what I sometimes tell these intruders into my privacy. He could not handle a citizen who would not blindly obey his request. He then went on to threaten me with felony arrest if he was again called to my house for a similar complaint. I filed a formal complaint with the SPD and the receiving officer who took my call was amazed at what this jerk had told me. Later I came home from work to find a message on my answering machine informing me they had contacted the prosecutor who said I had not broken any law. Of course nothing was said about the out of control officer who did in fact break the law and needed professional help in my opinion, which was why I made the complaint. But instead of that logical conclusion they allowed him to continue carrying a gun and a badge. You might recall about two years ago another Seattle cop murdered a harmless, inebriated Indian on the downtown streets here in broad daylight as he was simply walking on the sidewalk. He was allowed to retire and no charges were ever filed although it was ruled unjustified by the police investigators themselves. It ended up, along with other outrages, causing a federal investigation of the SPD which recently ended with an unsatisfactory set of findings.

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  18. Blaine, is that a record for longest blog? At least the officer did not give you (SDB) a record. Maybe he did not want to use any more paper on you Many Native Americans knew the true meaning of the answer.

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    1. This officer could not arrest me as I had not broken any law, he just wanted to frighten me into submission. He failed at that, but he did frighten me into ending the conversation at once due to his amazing display of physical squirming with his hand cavorting around his Glock. I realized he was unable to control himself and might do something such as manufacture a crime, so I went back in the house and locked the door and immediately phoned the precinct and complained. I frequently think about the affect this moron must have had on the younger cop who was his partner.
      As to the murder by another much younger officer later of the Indian, I was in error saying he was allowed to retire. He was allowed to resign. This is still causing much uproar in Seattle and repeated calls for the firing of our police chief. It will most likely also play a major part in our mayor not being reelected.
      If you want to see the police car video of this Indian being murdered you can do a Google search for John T. Williams, woodcarver. www.komonews.com/news/local/112097619.html
      Sorry if a couple of my posts are rather long, but it is not me, but this keyboard that sometimes takes control.

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  19. SKB:

    I don't understand how anyone could take advantage of a guy like you.

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  20. SDB - was Blaine's admonishment not enough? If you want to be a reality star go on Oprah or something. Let my puzzle people go!
    Eddy
    ( sorry I am not UNKNOWN - or ABBY NORMAL - apologies Mel - but I just don't know how to get my name as a Header on these comments.)

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  21. Sound like a kind of belt buckle.

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  22. Now I lay me down to sleep,
    I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
    For those of you who're still awake
    Enjoy this Midweek Puzzle Break.

    Welcome to the show

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  23. Lorenzo, I wore those at boy scout camp.

    This puzzle reminds me of an old joke: 7+7=15

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  24. SDB I first saw the story of the Woodcarver from a deaf woman on youtube(I know ASL). Your video seems to show unfortunately, no sweat for a cold-blooded assassination and a big dose of the first part of the answer for the victim.

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    1. The video you saw unfortunately left out the beginning that clearly shows the condition of Mr. Williams. He was unaware of his surroundings and did not even notice the cop car he walked past. There is another video from the second cop car to arrive which shows even more outrageous behaviour by all the cops.

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  25. By the way, SDB, was the Woodcarver really inebriated? (both a question and a hint)

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    1. I agree with you that this incident provides a rather sick hint at the puzzle answer.
      The autopsy showed Mr. Williams was shot four times on the right side of his body. I believe the last shot hit him in the side of his face. I don't recall if it was reported if he was inebriated, but I am sure he was.
      The cop never identified himself, so it is obvious Mr. Williams was turning to see who was yelling and was shot before he even saw the cop. The knife was unopened and he was not using it. It was a legal knife.

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  26. WASTE NOT; WANT NOT

    Hints & Clues:

    "New puzzle is now up and I did not delay in sending in my answer already."
    "Delay" is the hint here. As in Waste no time. Pretty lame, I know.

    I especially enjoyed Jim's rather snotty post which he removed, but promised to re-post today, because he thought it might be too much of a give away. Snivel on dude!

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  27. "I'm reminded of the biblical quote 'The last shall be first and the first shall be last'. In this case the most common shall be the least common; although it's now the second most common that shall now be the most common - but the least common shall still be more common than what was the most common!"

    In "WASTE NOT; WANT NOT", the most commonly used letter in the English alphabet, the letter "E", is used only once. The 2nd most commonly used letter, "T", is used 4 times - the most of any letter used in the phrase. From the palette of letters we're given, the least commonly used is "W", which in the phrase occurs twice - but that's still one time more than "E" is used.

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  28. Last Sunday I said: “Unlike last week’s puzzle, this week’s puzzle is not lame.” The word “not” is used twice and comprises 40% of the answer...

    Chuck

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  29. On Mar 18, 2012 12:39 PM i had posted the following hint:
    : "I do not carelessly use nasal mucus, nor do I need extra nasal mucus" get it? Waste snot want snot?

    I felt the clue was too obvious so I censored it before Blaine might have done so.

    Cheers to all and see you Sunday!

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  30. "only terrible things come to mind"....the mind is a terrible thing to waste

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    1. Or as an obese fellow once proclaimed, "A waist is a terrible thing to mind!"

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  31. Replies
    1. I disagree: I do not enjoy this puzzle genre.

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    2. The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

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    3. Puzzles like this one really get my Irish up!

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  32. It's more than OK. It's powerful!

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  33. I am jealous of those who have it.

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  34. It's good to focus on what's foremost.

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  35. I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed that today's Car Talk Puzzler is a different puzzle than the print version they posted on their web site, but the audio version is the one they used on the air.??????? I suspect the one they printed is the one they intend to use next Saturday. Those darn minions!

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For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't assist with solving. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the deadline. Thank you.